Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kalkaska County lifts hiring freeze for multiple departments, approves a string of personnel hires
Summary
The Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18 adopted multiple resolutions lifting the countywide hiring freeze to allow recruiting across law enforcement, corrections, prosecutor, treasurer, zoning and parks positions; all motions passed by roll call 6-0 with one absence.
The Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 18 to lift the hiring freeze for a series of county positions, clearing the way for immediate recruitment in several departments.
Motions moved by Commissioner Jeff Sieting and others authorized the Sheriff to fill a full-time law enforcement deputy (Resolution 2026-04) and a full-time corrections officer (Resolution 2026-05). The board also approved lifting the freeze to allow the Treasurer to retain a temporary staff member (8–11 hours weekly, not to exceed 52 weeks), to advertise and fill a Prosecutor Secretary position (Prosecutor Secretary 05), a part-time Zoning Administrator and Soil Erosion position, and a full-time DPW Supervisor. Each resolution passed on a roll call vote: six yeas, zero nays, one absent.
County Administrator and CFO Patrick Whiteford briefed commissioners on staffing needs and noted the board will review Policy #360 on per-diems and other policy implications. Finance Chair Jeff Sieting framed the measures as steps to restore operational capacity across public safety, public works and county administration. "Motion by Sieting to allow the Sheriff to apply for the 2026–2027 DNR Marine, ORV, ORV Safety and Snowmobile Law Enforcement grants," the minutes record, reflecting paired grant-seeking and hiring actions.
The votes included specific personnel directives: Resolution 2026-07 (temporary Treasurer staffing), Resolution 2026-08 (advertise for full-time Prosecutor Secretary), Resolution 2026-09 (advertise for Part-Time Zoning Administrator/Soil Erosion), and Resolution 2026-10 (fill full-time DPW Supervisor). All passed 6-0 with Commissioner Robert Baldwin absent. The board did not set exact start dates in the motions; further steps, including advertising and appointment, were delegated to department heads and the county administrator.
